Joint accounts are ideal for family members, or people in a long-term relationship who trust each other with their finances. Joint accounts can make it easier to manage joint payments including rent, mortgage repayments or bills.

What types of joint accounts exist?
There are generally two types of accounts:
1. The first requires both parties to sign, in order for withdrawals to be made on the account.
2. The second type only requires one person to sign to access the account. These accounts allow for one person to withdraw cash from the account without requesting permission from the other person.

What’s a signatory and what power do they have?
An authorised signatory is someone who the account owner has approved to have access to their account. This means the signatory can transact on the account and they can view all transaction history.

To find out more, read the following articles which can be found on the Australian Government money smart website: